


Surprise

by cherryistired



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - 2D Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine), Fluff, Gen, I guess technically, it starts after a thousand words but ssssssssh theres fluff, its a supercharged shot of fluff so it counts, they don't really have names except for one adult
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 05:57:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11685480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryistired/pseuds/cherryistired
Summary: This was supposed to be an art prompt for a friend, but I got inspired too.Bendy has an interesting day.





	Surprise

It had started about a week ago, Bendy thought as he laid on the couch. Henry had been a little more secretive recently, cutting off conversations when Bendy entered them and buying a lot more personal items than he usually did. He wasn't the best at keeping secrets, so as soon as he started acting strangely, Bendy knew he was trying to hide something. Whenever the toon tried to bring it up with him, though, Henry would always change the subject. Bendy didn't know what to make of it.

The toon's thoughts were cut off when the front door opened. Henry walked into the house, carrying two overstuffed grocery bags.

" _Welcome home Henry!_ " greeted Bendy cheerfully, hopping off the couch and rushing over to him. " _Need any help with the groceries?_ "

Henry glanced at the bags in his hand, then behind him nervously. "Uh, nah, I got it. Why don't you...go play outside? I saw-er, I'm pretty sure I saw some kids playing down the street."

" _Uh, you sure?_ " Bendy asked, his smile faltering. " _I can always play with them later-_ "

"No no no, it's fine!" interrupted Henry, smiling nervously. "You go play!"

" _...Okay..._ " Bendy gave Henry one last glance, then slowly walked around him and out the door.

Sure enough, several kids were playing outside, climbing a tree down the street. Bendy headed towards them, brow still furrowed over Henry's strange behavior. As he got closer, though, he put on a more cheerful face. There was no need to be upset around the kids.

" _Hey guys!_ " he greeted, waving as he walked over to the tree. Most of the kids were in the tree, either trying to go really high or staying on the lower branches, talking with the children on the ground. As soon as the noticed Bendy, they all quieted down and glanced at each other.

Bendy slowed to a stop and arched an eyebrow at them. " _Uh, is everything alright?_ "

"Uh-huh," one of the kids nervously answered, trying not to smile.

Bendy squinted at them and leaned back, putting his hands on his hips. " _Uh, okay..._ " He relaxed slightly and smiled at the kids, trying not to show his nervousness. " _Can I play with you guys then?_ "

"......Sure," the same kid snickered, prompting the other kids to giggle.

The toon glanced at the kids, arching an eyebrow at them. " _Y'know what? I should, uh, probably help Henry with the groceries! Yeah, it was really rude of me to just leave like that, haha._ "

One of the kids perked up and frowned at Bendy. "Aw, you're not gonna play?"

" _Now right now!_ " he said, waving his hand dismissively as he turned to walk away. " _I'll come back later, okay?_ "

A chorus of disappointed "aw"s sounded from the kids, but one of them shushed the others. Bendy stopped and turned around to look at them again as the kids turned their attention to the boy. He said something too quietly for the toon to catch, but the kids descended into soft giggles after hearing it. Bendy bit his lip and walked away. If the kids didn't want to play with him, he'd be fine.

The toon walked back into the house, eyes downcast. " _Henry, I'm-_ "

"Bendy?!" came a startled shout from the kitchen, followed quickly by a surprised Henry darting out. "You're, uh, back early?"

" _Y-yeah,_ " the toon answered, taking a step back and squinting at him. " _I didn't-_ "

"Mr. Ross?" A very confused and slightly worried voice asked as a woman stepped out of the kitchen. "What are-" She froze as soon as soon as she caught sight of Bendy.

Henry glanced nervously between the toon, the woman, and the box in the woman's hands. "Uh, Mrs. Stiller, this is Bendy, the, uh, the D-dancing Demon."

" _H-hello ma'am!_ " Bendy stuttered out, smiling wide to try and hide his nervousness. The woman stared at him, knitting her brows, before widening her eyes and glancing down at the box with a soft "oh."

"...Bendy can you give us a minute?" Henry asked, turning to face the toon with a nervous smile.

" _Yeah, s-sure!_ " Bendy replied, still smiling. He walked as casually as he could to his room. As soon as he shut the door, he let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding and slumped against the door. Scowling, he shuffled over to his bed and flopped onto it facedown.

He didn't like how today had gone so far. He wished he could play with the kids, or talk to Henry, or do something other than sit in his room and mope. With the woman - Mrs. Stiller, he recalled Henry saying - in the kitchen with Henry, and the kids acting strangely, and Henry acting strangely, he couldn't do any of that. He just wished today would be over soon and that everything would go back to normal.

Eventually, three knocks sounded from Bendy's door. Bendy mumbled a " _come in_ " that was partially muffled by the bed.

The door slowly creaked open as Henry poked a head in. "Hey bud." He got a " _mmph_ " in response. "Could you come to the kitchen with me?"

Bendy rolled over and sat up at the request. Seeing the nervous smile and excited glint in Henry's eye, the toon smiled slightly in return. " _I guess so._ " He slid off the bed and walked out of him room, Henry shutting the door and walking beside him.

After a moment, Henry asked, "Did you know that today is the anniversary of the day your first episode was showed?"

" _Oh, really_ _?_ " Bendy looked up at him as he smiled again, growing cautiously excited. " _Do you think we could do something-_ "

"SURPRISE!"

Bendy jumped backwards at the shout. Crammed in the kitchen were all the neighborhood kids, as well as Mrs. Stiller. On the counter next to her were a few wrapped boxes, as well as a cake with black icing. Tied on one of the chairs at the table were a few colorful balloons.

" _I- what- what is this?_ " Bendy stammered out, glancing around the kitchen is confusion.

"A surprise birthday party!" one kid answered.

"My mom made the cake!" Another kid pointed at Mrs Stiller.

" _A b-birthday- party? For me?_ " Bendy looked up at Henry, brows knit in confusion.

Henry chuckled. "Well, wouldn't today technically be your birthday?"

" _I- I guess so..._ " Bendy's eyes and smile slowly widened as the realization slowly dawned on him. He turned to survey the kitchen again. " _This is- all for me?_ "

"Sure is, bud." Henry beamed down at the toon, patting him on the shoulder.

Bendy sniffled, beginning to cry tears of joy. " _Oh wow..._ " He suddenly launched himself at Henry's legs, wrapping his arms around them in a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you everyone!"

Henry chuckled again, leaning over to pick up the toon. "Alright, you ready?"

" _Yup!_ " Bendy answered, rubbing his eyes. The kids cheered and whooped in excitement.

Henry set him down at the table in the seat with the balloons. The kids followed suit, cramming themselves around the table wherever they found a space. Mrs. Stiller brought over the cake and stuck a single candle in the center. Now that it was in front of Bendy, he could see what it looked like fully.

" _Hey, it's me!_ " he said, returning his signature smile to the cake.

“Yes it is," Mrs. Stiller chuckled, glancing at the toon. "I can see now why Henry wanted it to look like you..."

As she lit the candle, everyone else started singing happy birthday to Bendy. The kids sang very enthusiastically, if a little off-key. Henry sang lower, able to hold the melody a bit better. Mrs. Stiller joined in as well once the candle was lit. Once they finished singing, Bendy took a deep breath to blow out the candle.

"Don't forget to make a wish!" a kid interrupted.

Bendy laughed. " _Oh, I forgot-_ "

"But don't tell us what you're wishing!" another kid interrupted, leaning towards the toon.

" _I know, I know!_ ” Bendy waved him away. "You don't have to remind me!"

"Just make the wish already! I want cake!" The child's complaint set off a wave of laughter.

When the laughter died down, Bendy squeezed his eyes shut. He wished with all his might and took a deep breath, then blew out the candle in a single breath. Everyone cheered.

"Now then, who wants some cake?" asked Mrs. Stiller, prompting more cheers.

She cut a thick slice of cake for Bendy and set down the piece if front of the toon, as well as a fork and a napkin. "Dig in!" Bendy complied immediately, stuffing a forkfull of cake in his mouth.

" _Mmmm! Thish ish rerry goo!_ " he said, mouth still full of cake. " _Wha fwafor ish thish_ _?_ "

"Devil's food cake," Henry answered. Bendy nearly spat out his cake laughing.

Once everyone had been served and finished their slice, Henry stood up from the table. "Alright, it's time to open presents!"

" _Presents?_ " Bendy asked, turning to watch Henry grab the wrapped boxes on the counter.

"Yup," Henry answered. "I wasn't sure if anyone would get gifts, but I think we've come up with a few good ones." He handed the toon a brightly wrapped box. "This one is from the kids."

Bendy tore off the wrapping excitedly and opened the box. Inside was a stack of papers bound together with a bit of string. The top piece of paper read "Our Friend Bendy" with a crudely drawn picture of the dancing demon on the front. Bendy flipped through the handmade book. Each picture was a drawing of him made by each of the kids. Some had him playing with them, some had him helping the kids out, and a few of them had his larger monster form, pulling kids out of tight spots and giving them big hugs.

When Bendy finished looking through the book, he looked back up at the kids, tears welling up in his eyes. " _Thank you so much! This is amazing!_ " In response, the kids piled on him in a group hug.

Once everyone untangled themselves, Henry pulled out a second, more simply wrapped gift. "Here's my present to you."

Bendy unwrapped the gift with the same energy as he did the last one. Inside the box was a sketchbook, a set of colored pencils, and a note. Bendy took out each item and set them on the table. When he grabbed the note, he read it aloud, interjecting his own thoughts.

 

"Happy birthday bud ( _Thanks Henry!_ ). I hope you liked your party ( _I do!_ ). I wanted to do something for you on the anniversary of your show first airing, but it was the kids idea to throw a surprise party ( _Oh, really? Thanks guys!_ ). I hope we pulled it off, you know how bad I am at keeping secrets ( _Haha, you really are!_ ). I hope you like your gift too ( _I do!_ ). Graphite's a bit easier to work with than ink, plus there's more colors.

"I'm grateful for the time we've been able to spend together ( _So am I!_ ). When I first found you at the studio, I was very confused and a little wary, but you proved yourself to be a trustworthy friend. You've protected me, you've kept my spirits up, and you've never let me down when I needed you. Even after we left the studio, you've made friends and stayed the cheerful little darling devil I used to animate all those years ago. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Thanks for changing my life.

"Happy birthday bud. I love you.

"( _Signed,_ ) -Henry"

 

When Bendy finished reading, he realized he was crying again. He looked up at Henry, smiling wide. " _Thank you Henry! I love you too!_ " He launched himself at him, hugging him tightly. The kids piled on again for another group hug, pulling Mrs. Stiller in it this time as well.

After a while, Henry loosened his hold around Bendy and looked at the kids. "Well, presents are over. Do you want to go play now?" The kids shouted agreements and slowly peeled themselves off the hug and ran outside to play.

A few hours later, Bendy waved goodbye to the last of the kids. He shut the front door and walked inside, flopping himself down on the couch.

Henry stuck his head out of the kitchen. "You're back?" Bendy nodded in response, too tired to talk. "I just got done cleaning up the kitchen." Henry walked over to the couch and sat beside the toon, wrapping his arm around him.

Bendy leaned on Henry and twisted his head up to look at him. " _Hey Henry?_ "

"Hm?" Henry looked down at the toon.

" _Can we do this again tomorrow?_ "

Henry laughed. "Happy birthday bud."


End file.
